As a type of text file, the TXT file format is designed for storing plain text with no formatting, which means it doesn’t contain any images or bolding, italicization, font style, alignment, etc. It’s the simplest type of file and one of the most commonly used file formats on computers.
Usually, TXT files are much smaller than other file formats when they contain the same text data, so it takes up less room in the system, and it’s much easier to transform and store a TXT file.
How to Create a TXT File
There are two basic text viewers and editors on both Windows and macOS systems, which are Microsoft Notepad and Apple TextEdit, respectively.
On a Windows operating system, it’s very easy to create a TXT file. You only need to right-click your mouse and select to create a new TXT file. It will open Microsoft Notepad by default, and you can input any text to save the file. In addition, Microsoft WordPad can also create TXT files by saving them as TXT optionally.
How to Open a TXT File
It’s easy to open and edit TXT files on all operating systems, and most of them are installed with a dedicated tool that is designed for TXT files, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and iOS.
Usually, on a Windows operating system, TXT files will be opened by Windows Notepad. In addition, Windows WordPad can edit TXT files, while Apple TextEdit helps open and edit TXT files for free on a macOS system.
On a mobile device, you can open TXT files directly, but editing is not permitted. If you want to make any changes, you need to download dedicated TXT file processors to achieve this.
In addition, Kindle can also open TXT files. All the main browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, can support open TXT files without limits. However, browsers don’t allow you to edit files as you may want.
How to Convert a TXT File
If you want to convert TXT files to other file formats, you can use almost all the programs that we’ve mentioned above. As a matter of fact, it’s very easy to convert TXT files. All you have to do is click Save as and select the targeted file format.
For example, by using Microsoft WordPad, you can convert your TXT files to RTF, DOS, Open XML, and others. But if you want to get a PDF, Excel, or other file versions, you’ll need a dedicated converter, such as CloudConvert, Convertio, Zamzar, etc.
Advantages and Disadvantages of TXT File Format
Advantages of using TXT file format:
- TXT files are simple and not that easy to get poisoned.
- Almost all computers and mobile devices can use TXT files.
- Compared to other files, the size of TXT files is very small, which makes it very convenient to store and share them.
Disadvantages of using TXT file format:
- When reading TXT files with Microsoft Notepad, you aren’t permitted to add any annotations.
- If you need to insert images to your content, a TXT file may not satisfy you because it only supports adding text.
